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[davlad22]

Now then guys and gals, I have searched and searched but to my knowledge nobody has shared their experience or views of fitting aftermarket HID's to the Omega?

I have concluded that this will be a well worthwhile upgrade to our facelift CD spec having seen the performance of the factory fit units on our Elite. With the car already having projector lenses (which would prove to be much safer and smarter) and some real cheap deals to be had on the 'bay, very tempted indeed.

Doesn't seem like a difficult job (i've seen the guides for calibra & astra) so would anybody be kind enough to point us in the right direction - piccies, products, people etc!

Any help much appreciated!  

[Danny]

word is you need headlight washers if you put HIDs on.. someone correct me if i'm wrong, heard a few rumours

[davlad22]

Ah well, this seems to be a grey area for aftermarket items? But again, has anybody fitted h/lamp washers to a facelift? Shouldn't be too difficult, extra pump, hoses - all the wiring is already there! I think h/lamp washers are for the safety of the driver in particular because the performance of whiter lights degrades with dirt on the lenses.

The main thing I believe, is to make sure there is a good safe beam pattern which is correctly aimed and doesn't cause glare. Shouldn't be too tricky with projector lenses?

[TheBoy]

OK, the law is (when factory fitted) that HIDs must have automatic levelling (seperate from the car's auto levelling, as thats too slow to react), and a washing system. The law probably would be the same for retrofit as well, though whether or not you would get pulled for it is a different matter. Though to prevent chance of dazzle, you would need to set them so low, and so far left, probably not worth the effort.

The other option is the +50 type bulbs - a standard Halogen, just brighter.  A few people here have tried them, and are very pleased. Much cheaper than dodgy aftermarket HID kits as well...

[davlad22]

Cheers TB, course the other thing is come MOT time what's the outcome going to be? Our cars are mot'd at the local friendly stealers after they are serviced so whether or not they turn a blind eye or not remains to be discovered.

I do seem to hear about alot of people getting dodgy ballast boxes and having to send out for another. Certainly don't want to go hacking up the wiring so how's about for now i'll get some H1 Vision Plus and report back. Just that the difference between facelift elite lights and facelift halogens is immense! I'm still tempted! Anyone actually done it then?

[TheBoy]

Cheers TB, course the other thing is come MOT time what's the outcome going to be? Our cars are mot'd at the local friendly stealers after they are serviced so whether or not they turn a blind eye or not remains to be discovered.

I do seem to hear about alot of people getting dodgy ballast boxes and having to send out for another. Certainly don't want to go hacking up the wiring so how's about for now i'll get some H1 Vision Plus and report back. Just that the difference between facelift elite lights and facelift halogens is immense! I'm still tempted! Anyone actually done it then?

Remember, without the washing system, HIDs will probably be worse than halogens - the light is badly affected by even the thinest layer of grime on the lenses...

If you were to do it, I would try and do properly, not crappy aftermarket kits.  Heads Headlights, ballasts, small bits of loom (the connectors are different), level sensors, ecu, washer bottle, pump, pipework, washer nozzles, few relays...

[Danny]

The other option is the +50 type bulbs - a standard Halogen, just brighter.  A few people here have tried them, and are very pleased. Much cheaper than dodgy aftermarket HID kits as well...

will these bulbs go straight into my humble GLS as a replacement?

[davlad22]

will these bulbs go straight into my humble GLS as a replacement?

Absolutely! On this occasion and in my past experience, you do seem to get what you pay for so don't go buying cheap. Having said that, I just crash and burned good style on a whole replacement set!

H1 is the fitment you'll be needing for low beam (behind the projector lense) and H7 for high beam. I even went the whole hog and decided to brighten up the sidelights as well in w5w 'wedge base' fitment.

Ones I ordered that everyone seems to reccomend are the Philips Vision Plus in H1 and yes, this is where it gets expensive, I twitched a bit and spent 28 squid, YES 28 of your finest english pounds on some brand new Philips 80% 'X-treme'. This motor better be able to land aeroplanes now! I am sure the difference will be negligible though. Bizarrely though my Mk4 astra uses H7 fitment for LOW beam and HB for Hi!?! :-?

If you want, before you spend your hard earned, i'll report back with some results.

TB, I was VERY tempted to go down that route when I spotted a new shape CDX with rear end damage at our local salvage yard. However, I didn't even bother enquiring, taking the bits off and down to the sales counter cos they are typical tight Yorkshiremen. Know the price of everything! It's still on the burner then, i'll have a proper look at the elite and all the associated parts required. Anyone got a TIS screenshot of the HID system? Would be muchly appreciated. Could be another first for OOF! 8-)

Cheers for now        

[Shawnyboy73]

Having bought and installed an aftermarket bosch hid 8000k kit it is simple two wire installation from original headlight each side. having had the car thru 2 mot's this is not a problem. now the washers question yes you really should have it but the grime does not affect the perfomance or effect. i found no problem with aim or dazzle to other drivers. Hope ths helps you in your desision and any other query on fittin please contact me

Regards Shawn

[Marks DTM Calib]

Hmmm 8000K is a bit blue for me....

I have to say that I have looked and read the MOT specs on more than one occasion and not once have I found a reference to washer jets on HID lighting....

If upgrading using donor parts, it should be easy to do if, you dont include the auto leveling. You would need to swap over the level motors from your old lights and take some of the HID loom from the donor to connect to the power packs. If you have check control its also worth swapping the check control module to as HIDs use quite a lot less power.

On cars with the projector style lamps, do check that the continental dippers are not set.....I have seen quite a few now where they were and it does have quite an adverse effect on light output.